Bed chair



Oct. 5 1926.

BED CHAIR Filed Sept. l5, 1924 4 Sheets-Sheet l i I l I I T uw. s 192e. 1,602,186

J. A. ARTON BED CHAIR Filed Sept. 15, 1924 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 J. A. ARTON Oct. @2%.

BED CHAIR Filed Sept.v l5, 1924 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Oct. 5 1926.

J. A. ARTON BED orma Filed sept. 15, 1924 4 Sheets-Sheet f1 Patented Oct. 5, 1926.

UNiTED srTEs JOHN A. ARTON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

BED CHAIR.

Application led September 15, 1924. Serial No. 737,643.-

My invention relates to convertible furniture by which a chair may be converted into a bed, and has for its object, improvements in devices of that class.

6 In the accompanying drawings- Fig. 1 isa front elevation of an upholstered chair to be converted into a bed; 4

F ig, 2 is a side elevation of the same;

Fig. 3 is a front elevation after thechair has been converted into a bed;

' Fig. 4 is a plan of Fig. 3 with parts broken awa-y;-

Fig. 5 is a sectional elevation on lines 5-5 of Figs. 3 and 4, but with the back in' vertical position;

Fig. 6 is a side elevation from the left of Fig. 3, parts being omitted,.and the back being in horizontal position;

Fig. 7 is a partial rear elevation of Fig. l;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged detail; and

Fig. 9 is a partial plan 'corresponding to Fig. 4 but with the seat in position and the cushion removed.

On legs l0 and casters 11 is a rectangular wood frame 12 havingsides 13 extending higher than the front part 12. Pivoted at points 14, on metal bars 14 secured to the sides 13, are links 15, and pivoted on the lower ends of these links are angle irons 16.

Transverse bars 17 at the front and a similar transverse bar 18 at the rear connect to the ends of the angle irons 16. The angle irons 16 with bars 17 and 18 constitute a swinging frame which will hereafter be designated as the seat carrying frame.

Secured at front and back on the lower part of frame 12 is a bridge 19 to which is secured a bellcrank lever 20 by means of a pivot. 21. Pivoted at 22 on the short a'rm of lever 20 is a piece of' angle iron 23, and secured on the lower face of bar 18 is a bracket 424. A link 25 has its ends pivotally connected to parts 23 and 24. As -s'o `conlstructed, a movement of the lever 20. on its pivot 2]. serves to swing the seat carrying frame on its links 15. The .arms 26and 27 of the chair are pivoted at points 28 to the'sides 13.v At the rear corners of the frame 12 are posts 29, and

between the upper parts of these osts and the upper parts of the arms are fol ing links 30. When the arms are in upright position, these links are folded together adjacent to the posts 29, but when the arms are moved on their pivots -to horizontal position, these links straighten out as shown in' Fig. 3 to limit the downward movement of the arms. Secured to the inner parts of the arms 26 and 27, and near their front and rear edges,

are metal strips or angle irons 31 which pro- Ject downward below the seat carrying frame. The lower ends of th irons 31 on the same arm of the chair are connected together lby a bar 32. The irons 31 and bars 32 are, in effect, bails pivoted at 28.

" Mounted on the seat carrying frame -is a seat 33, and on top of this 1s a cushion 34. At the right hand side, the seat and cushion are connected together by a cloth hinge as shown at 35 in Fig. 3. The front corners .of

l the seat 33 are notched as shown at 36 in Figs. 3 and 9. Just inside of the upholstered surface, the front faces of the arms 26, and 27 are boards which extend vbelow their pivots 28 and into the notches 36. These extensions are shown at 37. As aconsequence of this construction, the seat 33, when in normal position, serves as a lock to keep the arms 26 and 27 from being moved on their pivots 28 from the position shown in Fig. 1 to that shown in Fig. 4.

The back 38 is not directly connected to the chair frame 12, but is hinged at 39 to the arm 27. (Figs. 3 and 4.) At the right of Fig. 1 the back has a. hook 40 which engages the upper end of the part 41 in the rear part of arm 26. When the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 1, the upper parts of arms 26 and 27 are drawn toward eachother on their pivots 28 so that they slightly compress the vcushion 34 between them. When the hook 40 is raised so as to release it from the .part 41, the backv 38 and arm 2 7 move slightly on their pivot 28 for the`said arm 27. pon such release, the arm 26 also moves slightly on its pivot 28. Such movements of arms26 and 27 release the compression on the sides of the cushion 34. Such releasing movement' is, however, only slight as the extensions 37 engage the front shoulders of the notches 36 before mentioned.,

In converting the chair into a bed, the hook 40 is released as before described. The lever 2O isv tlien moved from the position shown in Fig. 4 to about mid-position with its free end .under the bridge bar 19. In

the seat carrying frame, hang down in a vertical position as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2. When the lever 20 is moved to midposition, the frame and'seat are moved to the rearsothat the front vshoulders of notches normal position, the links 15, which support -ing frame Vcentrally upon the base 36 are clear of the extensions 37 on arms 26 and 27. In this position the l'inks 15 are inclined backward at an angle of about forty-five degrees. If the arms 26 and 27 are now moved on their pivots to their horizontal positions, the bails 32 will come under the seat carrying frame and lift that frame until the links 15 are inclined upward at about forty-ve degrees, or are nearly to the upright position shown in Fig. 5. In thus moving the seat upward, the lever 20 is swung to the left about as far as it is shown to the right in Fig. 4. This is the automatic result of causing the seat carryto move on its pivoted links. If the lever be now moved from .the left to mid-position, the seat carrying frame will be carried forward again until the links point slightly beyond the straight upward This movement of the ,seat forward brings the front shoulders of notches 36 opposite the ends of the extensions 37 and locks the arms 26 and 27 in horizontal vosition. It also brings the lateral or rear acesof notches 36 against the rear faces of extensions 37. This, taken with the fact that the links 15 are beyond the upper dead center, makes a lock which prevents the weight of a person on the bed from turning the links and letting'v fall downward. Liftin on the end of either arm 26 or arm 27 will lift the entire bed and not close it up into the form of a chair.

After the parts have been brought to the position just described, they cushion 34 'is moved on its hinge 35 until that cushion lies on top of arm 26. The back is also turned on its hinges 39 until it lies on top of arm 27. The parts are so proportioned that the back 39, 'the seat 33, an-d the cushion 34 form a level surface upon which may be spread the mattress 42.

It isl to be noted transversely of the chair as a seat, and of the chair.' The seat' and two arms of a chair would make a bed long'enough for a child, but not long enough for a full grown person. The back position.

of a chair is ordinarily higher than the arms,

and when laid down flat will extend to a greater distance. By my .construction of hinging the back to one of the arms, and then using that back-as an extension, I am enabled to get a full length bed, the same being formed of the seat, the two arms and the back.

In restoring .the article to the condition of a chair, the operations are reversed First, the mattress is removed and the lever 20 is pushed to the left to swing the seat to the rear so as to free the lock engaging the ends of extensions 37. This also moves the links 15 from a slightly forward to a rearwardly inclined position. i

After moving the back 38 om its hinges the center of the bed that the bed is formed from its horizontal to a vertical position, the arms 26 and 27 vmay be lifted to their normal position. In this movement of the arms, the hails 32 move downward away from the seat carrying frame, and that frame, with the seat and cushionv thereon, falls to its lower position by the action of gravity. If the front part of the seat 33 does Ynot automatically enter between the extensions 37 before thehook 40 engages part 41, a slight push on lever 2O toward the right will complete such movement.

The seat 33 is an ordinary wood frame, cloth covered and having interior springs and upholstery as is common in furniture. The arms 26 and 27 are cushions with wood frame work, and have nothing unusual about them beyond what is here set forth. The back is also a cushion with just enough frame work to enable it to serve as a connecting link between the arms when said arms are in their normal position.

In my former Patent, No. 1,336,062, dated April 6, 1920, I provided a folding bed frame with spring supported wire lattice for supporting a mattress. That frame consisted of sections which folded together, and which were concealed under the se'at of a chair when said seat was in its normal position. `When the seat was overturned in a forward direction, this bed frame was unfolded, and the extreme end was supported by a special pair of legs extending to the floor.

From the foregoing description of my present invention it will be seen that I dispose'entirely of a special bed frame and springs, and make the bed out of the upbolstered parts of the chair itself. Also, that the bed is supported entirely by the legs of the chair, and requires no extra or outside support.

' In Figs.-3 and 4 I have shown a mattress 42. Room for this and other bedding may be provided in the back in its upright position, but as such arrangement is not a part of the present invention, it is not illustrated.

What I claim is:

1. In a chair, a base, arms pivoted to the base and movable outward on their ivots, a seat located between the arms an normally serving to restrain said arms from such outward movement, -and ineans for moving said seat to release said arms.

2. In a chair, a base, arms pivoted to the base and movable outward on their pivots,

a seat located between the arms and nor.

mally serving to restrain said arms from -1 such outward movement, means for moving said seat toward the rear to release said arms, and means by which an outward movement of said arms serves to raise said seat to an elevated position in which it forms a central part of a bed between said arms.

3. In a chair, a base, arms pivoted to the base and movable outward on their pivots, means serving normally to hold said arms from such outward movement, means for releasing said holding means, a seat, and meansl by which an outward movement ot said arms on their pivots will raise the seat to an'elevated position in which it forms a central part of a bed between said arms.

- 4. In a chair, a base, arms pivoted to the base and movable outward on their pivots to form overhangin end parts of a bed, a seatserving to form t e central part of such bed, and means by which said seat may be shifted on the base so that it serves as a locking device to hold said arms in either their chairforming or their bed-forming osition.

5. In a chair, a base, arms pivoted to the base and movable outward on their pivots,

a back hinged to one arm and having a hook forl engagin the other arm to hold said arms in their chair-forming position, said hook being normally releasable so that the arms may be movedoutward and said back being movable on its hinged connection so that it may be folded upon the arm to which it is hinged, a seat located between said arms and raised to an elevated position by the outward movement of the arms, and a cushion located on said seat and movable to a position on the arm opposite the back, said back, seat and cushion forming three parts of a bed. l

6. In a chair, a base, a Swingin seat Sup.- ported by links pivoted to the ase, arms pi'voted ,to the base and movable outward on their pivots to form parts of a bed on opposite sides of the base, means by which the .outward movement of the arms raises the seat so that it forms a central part of the bed between the arms, and a lever for controlling the links so thatv the seat may be moved to locking position for said arms.

JOHN A. ARTON. 

